The Following Letter was sent by Dr.
Michael Gordinier, Professor, Washington University, to his
former MBA students.

Concealed
Carry Legislation: A Matter Of Life & Death Importance

Dear EMBA Alumnus:

On April 6, Missouri citizens will
decide the fate of Proposition B, one of the most important
anti-crime, pro-civil rights measures ever put before the voters
of Missouri.

Id like you to consider voting
"YES" in support of Proposition B, a measure that would
give law abiding citizens the option to carry a concealed
firearm.

I know what you are thinking. "Has
Mike gone crazy? This idea sounds dangerous". Believe me, I
thought so too before I found out the facts and the facts
overwhelmingly support the concept of concealed carry.

As a statistics professor at Washington
Universitys Olin School of Business, my blood boils when I
see facts misrepresented and data distorted. I believe that
sensible public policy demands that hysteria and demagoguery not
bury empirical facts and the truth.

But "bury the facts" is
exactly what the extremist opposition is doing when they claim
that

"blood will run in the
streets" if Proposition B passes.

I care so deeply about this anti-crime,
pro-civil rights issue that I am compelled to share with you, at
my own expense, the results of my research, results that have
convinced me that concealed carry is right for Missouri.

Heres why I support Proposition B

Did you know:

That 43 states already have
several decades of overwhelmingly positive
experience letting their law abiding citizens carry
concealed weapons? And not one of these states has ever
revoked the law once in place.

Over 230,000,000 US citizens live
in states that have these laws (85% of the US
population)? In these states, more than 2,400,000
law abiding citizens are legally carrying concealed
weapons.

That none of the forecasted doom
and gloom ["blood in the streets", "a
return to the "Wild West", "car accidents
escalating into shootouts", "guns in bars and
schools", "increased gun accidents"] has never
materialized?

That over 43 policemen have had
their lives saved by legally armed citizens who came
to their aid in an emergency?

So what does the empirical data say
about the impact of concealed carry laws on crime? I was
surprised to learn that:

Law abiding citizens remain law
abiding after they get their concealed carry permits
(Floridas revocation rate is 0.0186%, Texas with
0.23%, Virginia with 0.1%, and South Dakota at 0.082%)

Whats the estimated net impact to
Society when concealed carry laws are put into place?

To answer this question, legal scholar
Professor John Lott, University of Chicago School of Law,
recently performed the most rigorously comprehensive data
analysis ever done on crime in America (More Guns, Less Crime:
Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws, The University of
Chicago Press, 1998). Lott's sources are broad and inclusive,
and his evidence the most extensive yet assembled, taking full
account of the FBI's massive yearly crime figures for all 3,054
U.S. counties over eighteen years, the largest national surveys
on gun ownership, as well as state police documents on illegal
gun use.

In summary, heres what he found:

" if the states that
did not have concealed carry laws had them in 1992, it is
estimated that at least 1,570 murders and over 4,177
rapes, 60,000 aggravated assaults and 12,000 robberies
would have been avoided"

" the estimated annual
gain in 1992 from allowing concealed handguns was over
$6,210,000,000"

Concealed carry works and
its net benefit to Society is extremely positive.

Now heres some shocking news
about Missouri.

Did you know that outside of the home, nobody
has a legal option to use a firearm to himself or a
family member against a life threatening attack? In fact, if you
do defend yourself or your child with a firearm, you
become the criminal.

Its ironic, but under current
law, the State of Missouri makes the following unbelievable
promise to all its violent criminals:

"The State Of
Missouri hereby guarantees you, the violent criminals

and predators of
Missouri, that all of your law abiding victims will be unarmed

and unable to defend
themselves or hurt you"

This is morally
bankrupt!

Who are some of the people currently
"at risk" from violent criminal attack?

Off duty police officers
that have received death threats from the criminals
they've put in jail. That's right! Even off duty
police cannot legally carry a concealed firearm to
protect themselves and their families outside of their
jurisdiction from revenge seeking criminals. Proposition
B changes this, effectively putting more police on the
streets at zero cost.

Women with restraining orders
against violent ex-spouses. Dept. of Justice figures
indicate that more than 70% of restraining orders are
ignored by violent ex-spouses intent on deadly revenge.
Proposition B gives women a fighting chance.

Doctors, nurses and people that
work late in dangerous locations. We trust these
people with our lives when we are in the hospital, but
the State of Missouri doesnt trust them in the
defense of their own lives. Proposition B changes this.

Truck drivers, emergency
medical personnel.

People that travel Missouris
highways and use rest stops.

The elderly, the weak
and the infirm.

Dont we owe it to these people to
give them the option of defending themselves and to revoke
Missouris morally repugnant promise it makes to its violent
criminals? They answer is a clear and forceful YES.

The concept of "deterrence"
is why concealed carry works in the 43 states that have these
sensible laws. What is deterrence and why does it work?

Concealed carry keeps the predatory
criminal guessing as to which victim might be armed and therefore
able to hurt him. This uncertainty "raises the cost" of
doing business for the criminal. And this cost increase
reduces the incidence of violent face-to-face encounters
where criminals stand a chance of having the tables turned on
them.

Dr. Lotts study validates this
common sense. It shows that while criminals in concealed carry
states dont give up crime altogether, they simply give up violent
crime! They do exactly what we all do when the price of something
increases to an unacceptably high amount  they switch to
other criminal acts, like car robbery andburglary, where
the chance of confronting an armed victim is acceptably small.

Therefore, legal concealed carry
provides three important benefits, two of which are
obvious:

In principle, it deters violent
attacks from even taking place.

It provides the intended victim
with an effective means with which to defend his or her
life if an attack does take place. Dr. Gary Kleck, a
noted Florida State University criminologist, has
researched the use of firearms for defensive purposes.
His research indicates that approximately 2,5000,000
times per year a firearm is used to thwart criminal
activity without the firearm ever being fired. (Social
Pathology, Jan., 1995, Vol. 1, Number 1, pg. 17)

But theres a more powerful and
subtle benefit to be derived from concealed carry. Its
something economists like to call a "free ride".

In the 43 states that have concealed
carry laws in place, we know that only about 3% of the
qualifying population actually takes the steps necessary to apply
for a legal carry permit.

This means that even if you
would never consider going about armed, 97% of the unarmed
population will benefit from the "free ride" that
deterrence provides. The criminal simply doesnt know who is
armed and so treats all of his potential victims as if they were
armed.

The Bottom Line:

We know whats really
happened in the 43 states that have concealed carry laws.
We dont have to guess. Concealed carry works,
its effective, its safe.

We therefore know what will
happen in Missouri when Proposition B passes. It will
work here, too.

None of the forecasted
doomsday scenarios have ever occurred in any of
the 43 states that already have concealed carry laws. To
claim that it will, for the first time, occur in
Missouri, implies that we are law abiding, less
intelligent and less trustworthy than our fellow
Americans.

We all know that it takes a "big
person" to admit that they were wrong.

The following quotes demonstrate that
the early critics of concealed were proven dead wrong
about their predictions. They have all been big enough to admit,
on the record, that their initial predictions of doom and gloom
were wide of the mark.

If only Missouris
anti-Proposition B extremists were such slaves to the Truth!

"All the horror stories I
thought would come to pass didnt happen no
boogie man. I think it has worked out well, and that says
good things about the citizens who have permits. Im
a convert."

Senior
Cpl. Glen White, President - Dallas Police
Association

"A lot of people predicted
mayhem on the streets, and that hasnt
happened."

Tulsa
County Sheriff Stanley Glantz

"Virginia has not turned in
Dodge City. We have not seen a problem"

Virginia
Public Safety Secretary Jerry Kilgore

To "set the record straight
[T]he process is working [T]he statistics
show the majority of concealed weapon or firearm
licensees are honest, law-abiding citizens exercising
their right to be armed for the purpose of lawful
self-defense"

Sandra
Mortham, Florida Secretary of State

Scientists know that before an
experiment is performed, all opinions are equally credible. But
after the experiment is performed and the data is in, those
"opinions" that contradict observed data are called false.

Weve sailed ships around the
Earth --- so to continue to believe that its flat would be
wrong. Weve traveled to the moon  so to continue to
believe that its made of green cheese would be wrong.

Yet thats precisely what the
extremist opposition is doing when they continue to claim that

"blood will run in the
streets" in a desperate attempt to scare you into voting
against Proposition B. What they "think" is irrelevant
 the facts are in and concealed carry works.

What about the Police? Do they support
Proposition B?

One of the best kept secrets in
Missouri is that street cops support Proposition B. Over
2,600 officers in the St. Louis Police Officers Association and
the Missouri Deputy Sheriffs Association are actively campaigning
for Proposition B. They and their family members are
routinely threatened by criminals theyve put in jail and
even they are denied by the State of Missouri the ability to
defend themselves off duty. They know that they have nothing
to fear from honest, law abiding armed citizens. Its the
bad guys that bother them!

As Sgt. John Johnson, President of the
St. Louis Police Officers Association wrote in a January 1999
press release in support of Proposition B:

" we support the idea
of law-abiding citizens having the option to carry a
legally purchased firearm ..."

" other states that
have passed right - to - carry laws have not experienced
the carnage that opponents predict . In fact,
serious crime rates have decreased in states that have
right - to - carry laws...."

"As police officers, we
continually ask the public to trust us. Our backing of
this measure now gives us the opportunity to return that
trust and support..."

However, the Missouri Police Chiefs
Association and some mayors are opposed to

Proposition B. Why?

Either they are ignorant of how
successful concealed carry has been in the 43 states that have it
(which is unlikely), or they are responding to political
pressure imposed on them by the sources of their funding
 the Governor of Missouri and the Washington, DC
bureaucracy (more probable).

Upon reflection, this should come as no
real surprise, as politicians are used to groveling at the feet
of their funding sources, doing and saying whatever their masters
tell them to say, facts and public safety be damned.

How does Missouris Proposition B
compare with the laws in other states? Contrary to the
opposition, Missouris law will be tough!

Heres what a law abiding citizen
must go through to get a concealed carry permit. You be the
judge as to its "toughness". An applicant MUST:

Be 21 years of age or older, a
U.S. Citizen and a state resident

Submit to an FBI national criminal
background check

Submit to a statewide criminal
background check

Provide a set of fingerprints for
these background checks

Allow a law enforcement review
of Juvenile criminal records

Pay for and pass an expensive
firearm safety course (minimum of 12 hours training)
approved by the Missouri Department of Public Safety

Wait 45 days for permit processing
and background checks

Pay an $80 initial permit fee plus
a $35 renewal fee

AND the applicant MUST:

NOT be convicted of a felony or a
violent misdemeanor

NOT be charged with a felony or a
violent misdemeanor

NOT be a fugitive from justice

NOT be dishonorably discharged
from military service

NOT be a habitual abuser of
alcohol or drugs

NOT be mentally ill or been
committed to a mental institution

NOT have exhibited violent
behavior within the last five years

ADDITIONALLY:

Affidavits to deny a permit can
be filed by anyone over 21 who has knowledge of why an
individual should be disqualified.

Permit data will be entered into
the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (MULES), a
system used by police during car stops.

Business and individuals have the
option of posting signs denying entrance to permit
holders

Department of Safety will issue a
photo ID Card

I ask that you remember this list of
extensive requirements the next time the opposition tells you
that Proposition B " is full of loopholes" and
that drug dealers and gang members will get permits.

Think about it. By definition, a
criminal lives his life outside of the law. So why would a
criminal go to the sheriff and give him his fingerprints,
undergo multiple federal and state background checks, pay
a registration fee, pay for expensive mandatory
training all to legally carry a gun that he is illegally
carrying now?

Given these facts, Im appalled
that Mayor Harmon of the City of St. Louis said in a press
conference that Prop. B is so full of loopholes that "
my dog could get one of these permits". Isnt it
sad that when the facts arent on the side of the
extremists, they resort to illogical antics like this? You, the
law abiding citizens of Missouri, deserve better
"debate" that this.

In summary, Ive decided to
support Proposition B because:

All law abiding citizens
are currently denied the option of using a firearm
to legally protect their lives and the lives of their
children against violent criminals. Currently we all have
a choice to make: defend our lives and become a felon, or
remain law abiding and potentially die. Lets
decriminalize the fundamental right to self-defense.

The combined experience of 43
other states proves overwhelmingly that law abiding
citizens act responsibly and that concealed carry has saved
the lives of citizens and police.

Proposition B is solid and has a
large number of unique safeguards.

Proposition B revokes the
governments morally repugnant promise made to
violent criminals that their victims are guaranteed to
be helpless.

Finally, every murderer, rapist
and violent predatory criminal will be voting against
Proposition B because it represents the only real threat
to their current way of life. Why vote with them?

Im
asking you to vote "YES" on Proposition B on April 6

Remember, even if you would never carry
yourself, everyone benefits via the deterrence effect. A
"yes" vote serves as a potentially life saving gift
to those law abiding citizens that want and need the option
to legally defend their lives and the lives of their children.

Please dont deny them this
fundamental right!

You have it within your power on April
6 to make right a tremendous historical wrong . and in the
process give hope to Missouris most vulnerable citizens.

Concealed carry saves lives and
if it saves just one life, your vote will have been worth
it.